Imagine it to be 1842 in Oregon Country - your spouse hasn't arrived home by nightfall, although expected to return by horseback to Oregon City after a week away in Astoria. As worried as you may be, a logical choice might be....
Memories
Time to March on
Yesterday would have been Dad's 89th birthday. It seemed a fitting day to share my final book talk on My Music Man...and to serve cookies. If you've read my memoir, you may recall this excerpt. TWO MONTHS AFTER Dad's death and a few weeks after his memorial service on the steamer Portland, Russ and I … Continue reading Time to March on
Real Oregonians do: in defense of umbrellas
Fellow Oregon author Matt Love penned a terrific book titled Of Walking in Rain. In it, Matt writes about what it is to live in one of the rainiest places on earth - a Western Oregon trait we worry may dry up with time. Anyone living in the Pacific Northwest must read this book, as I … Continue reading Real Oregonians do: in defense of umbrellas
Let’s talk about It
I was going to write a blog about It. Then I read a piece by Atwood, and I didn’t have anything else to say. She said it all, more eloquent than anything I could craft. Fears about It lurk in my dreams and during my awakening. Heightened as I think about our children. Earth as we have known … Continue reading Let’s talk about It
What’s happening on February 14?
Yes, perhaps you plan to celebrate Valentine's Day with someone special. Newcomers to Oregon - and those who haven't paid much attention to history - may need to be reminded that it is also Oregon's birthday. Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859. And while we can all agree that our history is … Continue reading What’s happening on February 14?
River stories
My new friend, author Robin Cody, suggested he was my Clackamas River Cousin, the one I didn’t know I had. The one related not by blood but of water, of rivers that run and pool, and carry us from today to tomorrow. How is it I had not discovered his writing until now? As I … Continue reading River stories
The ritual of the tree
It's true. I adore Christmas trees. Truth be told, I adore trees. And while I did grow up in a (albeit, liberal) Christian Church and sang in the choir with the best of them, I admit my devotion to the season is more. I'll ignore, for now, paradoxical contradictions of religion. Instead, decorated trees awaken … Continue reading The ritual of the tree
You come back, again and again
The woman cutting my hair admired my ring three days ago. I told her I got it from you. I didn’t say it was from your finger, a moment after you took your last breath. When I first put it on it felt foreign: a large jade stone. The one you impulsively traveled downtown to … Continue reading You come back, again and again
Early bookselling: Ticknor & Fields to Gills
Bookstores place second on my list of most favorite human-made spaces, bested only by libraries. Libraries unquestionably rank at the top by exuding an overwhelming welcome, and forgiveness for choices I may make: I can explore and expand my interests and it's okay if I don't always make it to the last page. I sometimes … Continue reading Early bookselling: Ticknor & Fields to Gills
Diaries, notes and letters: leave ‘em laughing
I just finished reading the memoir Educated by Tara Westover. I found it both hard to put down and upsetting: yet, more than anything it fed into my own brain ramblings about family stories, and how differently each of us retain memories during our lifetime. A third-grader at Chloe Clark Elementary asked me a profound … Continue reading Diaries, notes and letters: leave ‘em laughing
